Wayne Thiebaud

E.G. Gallery, Kansas City
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco
Foster Goldstrom, Dallas
James Corcoran Gallery, Santa Monica
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in good condition overall. The surface is clean having recently benefited from a topical cleaning executed by Amann + Estabrook Conservation. There are nuances in the coloration of the white table cloth which appear to be the result of age. There is scattered, stable craquelure concentrated in the more heavily impastoed areas of paint such as the white expanse of the table cloth. There are a few pinpoint losses along the edges of the painting as well as a ½ inch paint loss at the pull margin in the right corner. There is evidence of wear and handling around the edges. Ultra violet light inspection reveals a few spot areas of restoration which are all located in the background of the painting; areas of inpainting are located as follows: there is a ¼ inch spot located 8 ½ inches from the bottom edge along the left pull margin; there is an 1/8 inch spot located 4 inches from the top edge and 1 inch from the right edge; there is a ¼ inch spot located 2 ¾ inches from the top edge and ¼ inch from the right edge and there is a 1/8 inch spot located 3 ¼ inches from the top edge and ¼ inch from the right edge. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The poignant accessibility of Wayne Thiebaud's realism situates his paintings within the canon of the great still-life painters. What on the surface appears to be a seemingly modest and direct approach to the subject matter, the sheer complexity of his technique, as evinced in Flowers in Vase, 1962, disengage Thiebaud from mere decorative association. In the great tradition of the avant-garde, Thiebaud pushes the precarious equilibrium between the likeness of figuration and the formal concerns of the abstract. He engages, head on, with a seemingly Francis Bacon-like determination, that in the multimedia age, that artist's true task in capturing the "real" is, in fact, to reinvent it.

 

Still life painting was the key to Thiebaud's early evolution and references important precedents in art history. Through his formalist concerns, Thiebaud developed a shrewd affinity to the work of Giorgio Morandi. In Flowers in Vase, the tight compositional unit recalls the structure of Morandi's work from the 1950s. Sheer artistic ingenuity and economy of stroke achieve volume of the materials within the respective canisters. Modulated pastel hues, and deep indigo shadows are in fact sophisticated extensions of the picture plane. Through a pleasing pastel filter, serenity and contemplation are suspended through minimal means and painterly discretion.  Flowers in Vase is a seminal example of Thiebaud's ability to bathe his subjects, and his "reality" in the warm California light, achieved all with the sophisticated and calculated use of the color white.